The invention pertains generally to the field of power conversion, and more particularly to digitally-controlled switched-mode DC/DC converters.
A broad class of switched-mode DC/DC power converters exists with the property that the ratio of the average output voltage to the input voltage is determined by the average duty cycle of a controllable switching device within the power conversion stage of the converter. Examples include buck, boost, inverting buck-boost, forward, and flyback converters, operated in the continuous conduction mode (CCM). Where the load on the power converter varies dynamically, or there is a requirement to track changes in load with minimal output voltage error, regulation of these converters is accomplished by continually estimating the output voltage error (the output voltage error being the difference between the uncorrupted output voltage and the desired output voltage) and continually adjusting the duty cycle of the switching device to compensate for changes in load conditions manifest in output voltage error estimates. In this case, the act of regulation consists of controlling, cycle by cycle, the duty cycle of the switching device in accordance with output voltage error estimates, so that the amplitude of the output voltage error is continually minimized.
Regulation mechanisms for this purpose, known as pulse width modulation (PWM) regulators, generally incorporate a pulse width control mechanism and a duty cycle control mechanism, where the former generates the ON pulse appropriate to the realization of the duty cycle generated by the latter. Duty cycle control mechanisms thus incorporate a mechanism for estimating the target duty cycle (the target duty cycle being the duty cycle essential to achieve the desired output voltage). A target duty cycle estimation mechanism is commonly a feedback mechanism, driven by the output voltage error, but it could as well be a feedforward mechanism, driven by the input voltage, or some combination of the two.
The most commonly used pulse width control mechanisms are analog in nature; that is they accept as input a continuously variable analog signal representing the desired duty cycle, and they output pulses of continuously variable width. As in other previously analog fields, continuous advances in integrated circuit technology have stimulated the application of digital techniques to the field of power conversion. As a result, the first digital PWM regulation mechanisms, replacing analog PWM regulators, have been developed and are being commercialized. It is the nature of such mechanisms that the generated pulse widths are quantized—a consequence of the temporal resolution of the digital regulation mechanism. If the temporal resolution of the regulation mechanism is Δt, then the pulse widths are constrained to be integral multiples of Δt. Furthermore, switching cycles, spanning consecutive ON and OFF pulses, are likewise constrained to be integral multiples of Δt.
One challenge to those who would apply digital PWM regulation mechanisms to power converters, especially DC/DC converters employed in battery-powered mobile applications, is the challenge of achieving acceptable application performance with digital regulation mechanisms. Quantization of pulse widths translates into quantized duty cycles, which constrain the ability of any duty cycle control mechanism to limit output voltage ripple to an arbitrary application-dictated level.
To understand the nature of this challenge, consider a DC/DC converter in a battery powered mobile application. The switching frequency is typically set in the neighborhood of 1 MHz, to minimize the size and cost of discrete components and maximize the operating efficiency of the converter. A digital PWM regulation mechanism operating at 16 MHz would thus be able to generate pulses widths of 0, 1/16 usec, 2/16 usec, 3/16 usec . . . 16/16 usec. Assuming a fixed switching frequency, 17 instantaneous duty cycles (including 0 and 1) could be applied. One method for regulating the output voltage would be to alternate between two quantized duty cycles, one smaller than the target duty cycle, and the other larger. In one embodiment of this concept (cf. U.S. Pat. No. 6,677,733), the duty cycle control mechanism examines the current output voltage error estimate, and if it is positive, selects the smaller duty cycle for the next cycle of the switching device. Similarly, if the current output voltage error estimate is negative, it selects the larger duty cycle for the next cycle of the switching device. At its best, however, this duty cycle control mechanism may not be able to limit output voltage ripple to an acceptable level . . . in which case the only obvious recourse for manufacturers of regulators is to improve the temporal resolution of the regulation mechanism . . . i.e., boost the clock frequency.
Even if the ripple is tolerable under static line and load conditions, it may present a challenge to tight regulation under dynamic load conditions, owing to the difficulty in providing accurate output voltage feedback in the presence of increased (though tolerable) ripple. In this case the only obvious recourse to manufacturers of regulators to minimize ripple without penalizing dynamic performance is to boost the clock frequency. But boosting the clock frequency to mitigate the effects of quantization on output voltage error (static and dynamic) may compromise cost and efficiency metrics. For example, the complexity and, consequently, the cost of the digital regulation mechanism are likely to increase as well as the power dissipation. Moreover, the increased cost and power dissipation will be further multiplied, if the requirement to boost the clock frequency should prevent the integration (at a substrate level) of the digital regulation mechanism with other electronic componentry.
Clearly there is a need for digital control methods that mitigate the requirement for higher clock frequencies solely for the purpose of achieving acceptable output voltage error (static and dynamic) in a broad class of DC/DC converters.